While this freshwater fish is originally from Asia, it can be found throughout the world and has become especially important in Europe. It typically ranges from 2 to 7 pounds and its diet of aquatic plants, insects and small animals often gives an earthy-mossy quality to the lean, white flesh. This mustiness is least evident during the winter months. Carp is the principal ingredient in the Middle European Jewish dish, gefilte fish, as well as a Czech Christmas dish. It is also a key fish in a variety of Asian dishes.

The catfish gets its name from the long barbels (feelers) hanging down from around its mouth, looking much like cat whiskers. Catfish is lowfat with firm, mild-flavored flesh, and is well suited to most manners of preparation, including soups and stews. Catfish is found worldwide: Most are freshwater, though there is also a saltwater variety found on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

Photo courtesy PacSeafood.com.

A cephalopod is the most developed class of mollusk. Culinarily, it includes the cuttlefish, octopus and squid. Cephalopods have advanced beyond the need for an external shell, and all share two major characteristics: tentacles attached to the head (hence the name “head-foot” in Latin) and ink sacs. The sacs are used to evade predators; commercially, the ink is used to color pasta, among other food, black. Other than fried or grilled calamari (squid) and the occasional stuffed squid or seafood salad at an Italian restaurant, squid has never been widely accepted in the U.S., outside of Asian cuisines. In many southern European cuisines, it is quite popular.

Ceviche, pronounced suh-VEE-chay, is shellfish cured by citrus juice acid. The dish has been popular in Latin America for many centuries. It dates some 2,000 years to an Inca dish of raw marinated fish. The dish was discovered by Spanish conquistadors in the 1500s; they added the lime juice and onion that are integral to modern ceviche. The name is thought to come from the Spanish “escabeche,” meaning marinade. Alternate spellings include seviche and sebiche. In some countries, ceviche is so popular that there are cevicherias, restaurants that specialize in ceviche. June 28 is National Ceviche Day in Peru, where it one of the national dishes.

CHAR

See Arctic char.

Photo courtesy PacSeafood.com.

This is a hard-shell, East Coast clam of medium-size—around 2 to 3 inches across. There are about three cherrystone clams to a pound. Cherrystones are frequently eaten on the half shell, though the sweeter littlenecks tend to be preferred raw. Cherrystones are also served cooked, with steaming and baking, e.g. Clams Casino, being the most popular cooking methods. They are also frequently referred to as topnecks. They are named after Cherrystone Creek, Virginia. See also clam.

Photo courtesy of PhilsFishMarket.com.

A chub is a species of freshwater fish in the carp family, Cyprinidae. Chubs are common in Europe and North America. Not all specimens are tasty; some are game fish (and the smaller ones are used as bait). The chubs from the Great Lakes look like small whitefish but are a different species. Both chubs and whitefish are salt brined, cooked, and smoked whole. A smoked chub is golden in color.

Photo courtesy of PhilsFishMarket.com.

There are two main varieties of these bivalve mollusks: hard-shell and soft-shell. Clams are variously named based on their size, region and sometimes personal decision of a merchant. Thus, think of the olive analogy (Medium, Large, Jumbo, Colossal, etc.): It’s best to order or buy by size, not by name.

• East Coast hard-shell clams (common hard clam, Mercenaria mercenaria) come in several sizes. The smallest and sweetest is the Little Neck clam, which measures less than 2 inches across and is about 10 to a pound (it takes its name from Little Neck Bay in New York). Next comes the medium-sized cherrystone clam or topneck clam, between 2-3 inches across. (Some sources maintain that topneck is a size between littleneck and cherrystone, creating a fourth size.) The largest is the chowder clam (also occasionally referred to by the Narragansett Indian name quahog or simply “large” clam), with a shell measuring at least 3 inches across.
• A mahogany clam is a marketing name for a small ocean quahog (Arctica islandica), which are harvested off New England close to shore by small boat fishermen. One company has trademarked the name “golden necks” for its mahogany clams. Mahoganies, which typically average about 25 per pound, are about the same size as Manilas, but cost substantially less.
• Surf clams and ocean quahogs are processed for use in chowders and breaded strips. These clams are dredged off the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts.
• The foot of the Stimpson surf clam, a species caught off the Canadian Maritimes, is a delicacy in Japan and China, where it is called hokkigai and served as sushi. See our Sushi Glossary for more information about seafood used for sushi.

COCKLE

COD

CONCH

Any one of a large variety of crustaceans that have a shell and 5 pairs of legs, the first pair of which have pincers. The are found in both cold and warm water, as well as fresh and salt water, though salt water crabs are more available. Crabs are noted for their sweet flesh. They are enormously popular in many cuisines around the world, and only shrimp are a more popular shellfish in the U.S.

• The major crabs from the Pacific are the Dungeness crab, the king crab (also called Alaskan king crab), from the far North Pacific, and the snow crab. King crab is sweet, moist and rich. It is a bit more firm and coarser than Dungeness crab meat. The body meat is slightly flakier than the leg meat. Snow crab meat is sweet and delicate, with more fibrous texture than king crab. The claw meat is more firm than that of the shoulder meat. Some say the Dungeness crab meat is more tender than that of the Maine lobster. The meat is sweet, flavorful and semi-nutty.
• The major Atlantic crabs are the blue crab from the Atlantic seaboard and Gulf coast, and the stone crab from Florida.
• Soft-shell crabs, in season from April to mid-September (with their peak in June and July), are blue crabs that have shed their hard shells.

Any of the more than 500 species of crustaceans that resemble tiny, pale to dark brown lobsters, including claws. They grow from 3 to 6 inches in length and weigh from 2 to 8 ounces. Most are fresh water species, a few are salt water. More than half of these species occur in North America, particularly in Kentucky around Mammoth Cave, and Louisiana in the Mississippi Basin. The rest of the species live mainly in Europe, New Zealand and East Asia.

CROAKER

See drum.
 

CRUDO

CUSK

Found mainly in New England, this member of the cod family is a rather small saltwater fish, ranging from 1-1/2 to 5 pounds. It can be found whole or filleted. It has firm, almost chewy, lean, white flesh. Cusk can be prepared in any way cod can be.

Photo copyright Thomas Wenneck, 2000-2005.

The common name applied to predatory cephalopods with ten tentacles, eight of which, like squid, have suction cups on their inner surface plus two longer arms that can launch out to capture prey. They resemble a large squid and can reach up to 16 inches in length. Cuttlefish are quite tender, more than squid or octopus, but still need to be tenderized. They can be prepared like squid and octopus, and similar care must be taken not to overcook to prevent them from becoming overly chewy. Cuttlefish are popular in Japanese, Indian and Mediterranean cuisines, and can be found fresh, dried, or seasoned and roasted (called sarume in some Asian or specialty seafood markets—not to be confused with surimi, imitation crabmeat or “sea leg”).